Reports suggest that the hiring of a high-profile executive such as Waydo could mean that Apple may be finally close to a prototype. It may even be ready to start showcasing its progress on the project. Google and Uber have both been regularly showcasing their updates to their driverless tech and car projects while Apple has been quiet so far.

An image from Apple's patent filing for autonomous car tech earlier this year

Waydo had previously played a key role as head of systems engineering at Waymo and was instrumental in the company's tests as well as upgrades which allowed it to completely do away with human backup drivers from its test vehicles.